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Fable: Retold Chapter 9
The Arena "A White Balverine in Knothole Glade?" Zane said picking up the Quest Card. "Like that story, now those Balverine our strong but how strong is a White Balverine?" Leo asked. "I heard they're Alphas" Ace said. "Alphas?" Zane said. "You know pack leaders so they must be strong" Ace said. "We best be on our guard for this" Leo said. "Let's go" Zane said using his seal to take them to Witchwood Lake. "Is this place always raining?!" Ace growled. "It would seem that way" Zane said entering the Knothole Glade where it was night and they stuck to a trail lit by lanterns. "AHHH!" a woman screamed. "Come on!" Ace yelled as they ran down the trail to see a group on people banging on a close gate with three Balverines approaching them from behind. "Blades!" Zane yelled stabbing swords into one killing it as the other two turned and in that second Ace smashed his ax into one skull and Leo shoved his knife into the other heart. "Guys!" Zane yelled seeing two more run from the dog. "Hn!" Leo grunted firing an arrow into one forehead. "Inferno!" Zane yelled setting the other on fire. "Open the damn gate! Let those people in!" Ace yelled banging on a door. "I guess it's safe to let you in now, but hurry it up – there could be more of them out there!" a guard said opening the gates as they approached a man whom looked to be in charged. "What the hell was that?!" Zane yelled. "Bloody Balverines! In all my years as Chief, I've never seen anything like it. We might have had a chance, but these damn things follow a White Balverine" the Chief said. "Told you" Ace smirked at Leo and Zane. "It comes into our village and kills whoever it wants" the Chief spoke as they heard a horrible howl, "I can hear something. It must be attacking the warehouse, at the bottom of the hill!" he said as a horn was blown. "Come on!" Zane said drawing his weapons and headed down the hill as they spotted the massive white Balverine with blood covering its mouth, face and parts of its fur. "Whoa!" Ace yelled as Leo fired an arrow as it jumped into the air to dodge. "The hell did it go?!" Leo growled as it landed away from them then pounced on Zane. "Zane!" Leo and Ace yelled. "NGH!" Zane grunted holding it's snout away from him. "GET OFF HIM!" Ace yelled slamming his ax into it's back as it roared then jumped into the air and landed away and ran down the hill. "Get back here!" Zane yelled chasing after it with Leo and Ace as they saw it had vanished. "It escaped!" Leo growled. "That thing's skin is too tough even for you" the Chief said. "Just wait! I got a sword that will hurt it!" Zane growled. "We had a great hunter in Knothole Glade one. He died fighting the last White Balverine. His wife still lives in one of the houses up at the top of the hill. If anyone knows how to hurt that bloody thing it'll be her." "Let's go" Leo said as they headed up the hil and once tere they were about to knock on the woman home when Leo heard something on the roof above, "huh?" Upon looking up a White Balverine jumped down to attack. "Force Push!" Zane yelled making it smack away from Leo and slam into a large totem in the center of the houses "AHH!" Zane yelled charging again but it crawled up the totem and disappeared once it jumped into the sky. "GOT AWAY AGAIN!" Ace growled. "The damned thing was just waiting for you. How could it know where we were going?" the Chief asked as a woman approached from the home they were going to. "He was here again, wasn't he? I didn't want to hurt him, but this time he's gone too far." "He?" Leo said. "What the blazes are you talking about?" the Chief asked. "The White Balverine. It's my husband. Or it was, once. He was bitten by the Balverine he killed and slowly turned into the creature he hunted for so long. For a while he could control himself, but anything that was left of my husband is dead now" the wife said as they heard the emergency horn blown. "That's the town horn! It must be attacking again" the Chief said. "My husband used silver weapons to hunt the last White Balverine. Please, take this. End his pain" she said giving Zane, Ace and Leo Silver Augmentations and one Augment Remover. "Let's end this" Zane said attaching the Augmentation to his weapon as the others did the same as the White Balverine came up the hill. "Slow Time!" Zane yelled slowing the creature down as the three attacked. "AHH!" Ace yelled smashing the Ax into it's back as they saw smoke come off it's back as the monster roared and jumped into the air and ran off. "Looks like the weapons work now at hurting him" Leo said. "That Balverine will think twice before attack us again. We've got it on the run! We can hurt it! We can kill it! Folks say it lives by Witchwood Lake, come back with its pelt, and I'll reward you" the Chief said. "Come on, let's end this thing misery" Leo said as the heroes headed to Witchwood Lake. "Hmmm" Leo said following tracks as they heard it's howl. "There it is" Ace whispered as they saw it at the water. "So what's the plan?" Leo asked. "Attack!" Zane yelled jumped off the hill and slashed his sword across it's back as it roared then howled as more Balverines began to appear. "Oh great!" Leo growled pulling out his bow and began firing arrows. "GAH!" Ace grunted being tackled and held up his ax as the Balverine bit down on it and he tried to fight it off. Sparky then barked and jumped on it's back biting it's neck as the Balverine roared and Ace flipped them over and shoved the blade of his ax into its neck splattering blood on his face. "HN!" Leo grunted firing an arrow into one Balverine head then ran as another approached and jumped off a tree and stabbed his sword into ones back and threw a knife into the neck of the Balverine behind him "Blades!" Zane yelled taking down a few then charged at the White Balveirne who swung at him but he used the mud to slid under it then got up and swung his sword back for a last attack, "AHHH!" Zane yelled with one powerful swing sliced the White Balverine head off as the others stopped attacking and Zane held it up, "RAHHH! IF YOU WANT TO BE NEXT GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE AND NEVER COME NEAR THIS VILLAGE AGAIN!" All the Balverine growled and began to back away disappearing into the woods around them. "We look like hell" Leo said looking at the blood covering them. "Let's wash up" Ace said using the lake water to clean his face. "I feel gross" Zane said cleaning his hands. "Let's go" Leo said cleaning off Sparky and the four headed back into Knotole Glade and approached the Chief. "So you're back and in one piece! We heard the howling and feared the worst, but it looks like you triumphed over the beast. Heroes of your stature deserve the glory of fighting in the Arena. Your nomination should be waiting for you when you return to the Guild oh, and speaking of the Guild...they sent this letter for you, from your sister Zane" the Chief said holding out the rolled up paper and an old book. "Theresa?" Zane said taking it and opening it up as Leo and Ace looked to read along with him. Dear brother, I have always known we were special, and now I have found proof. This book tells of a bloodline from the days of the Old Kingdom, and its connection to a sword powerful enough to rule the world. A bloodline mother belonged to, I am certain. A bloodline you and I belong to as well. Perhaps with your eyes you will understand it better than I do. I speak to the pages but they don't speak back. Theresa "A sword? That can rule the world?" Leo said taking the book, and opening to the first page, "The Bloodline." "What it say?" Ace asked as Leo read aloud. "Though the Old Kingdom vanished centuries ago, pieces of it remain scattered throughout Albion. The Guild in its magnificent glory, ruined architectural corpses, dark and unholy secrets throbbing beneath the earth. But more survives than stone and magic. For there is still among us the living legacy of the Kingdom itself. A lineage that is connected with all that made the Kingdom great and somehow ended up destroying it. Whether they are the descendants of Archon himself or of the makers of the Sword, or perhaps of those who managed to extinguish its power, it is not known. Though generations separate them from the days of the Fall, there walk today survivors of this bloodline, and an ancient power courses though their veins. They may as Heroes or they may hide among the masses, but their link to the Sword wielded by Archon himself, the Sword of Aeons, is confirmed in all the documents I have unearthed. If I can find the living descendants of this bloodline, I may be able to uncover what happened to the Sword, and perhaps the days of the Old Kingdom can be restored. There is one to whom all the signs direct me. Though she lives a quiet life now, she has done much to mark her as the one. And now the bloodline continues through her children. A son and a daughter. And the power that lives in her will be passed on to them one day." "Remains...the Focus Sites!" Ace said. "So that's what they will summon! This Sword of Aeons a sword that can give it's wielder the power to rule the world" Zane said. "It spoke of a mother a son and daughter" Leo said. "So if the son is Zane and the daughter his sister Theresa than you mother may be alive Zane" Ace said. "She could be alive..." Zane repeated. "So that raid on your home, the Old Kingdome Relics, the Sword it's all connected to one person!" Leo said. "Jack of Blades!" Zane growled clenching his fists, "the Archeologist mentioned him!" "So the raid was meant to capture you, Theresa and your mother" Ace said as they headed to the Cullis Gate. "But I escaped and they left Theresa for dead" Zane said. "Meaning Jack could be looking for you Zane" Leo said. "Let him come! I'll kill him when I see him!" Zane growled as they headed to the Guild. ~Later!~ "WHOA! Check it out!" Ace smirked holding up a nominee paper. "We can enter the arena" Leo said looking at his own nominee. "The next quest here, I bet you anything Whisper will be there" Zane said. "No doubt but you will whoop her and that giant troll brother of hers no sweat" Ace said. "Let's go back to Witchwood I want to see this Arena! My mother told me stories about this place" Zane smiled as they took the Cullis Gate to Witchwood. "What was she like?" Leo asked as they appeared in Witchwood. "Oh she was beautiful and strangely she was VERY strong could beat down at arm wrestling every time" Zane smiled as they reached the doors to the Arena Entrance. "Let's go" Leo said pushing the doors opened." "You can hear the crowd from out here" Ace said as they walked up the hill. "The Arena is THE place to watch heroes in action even in my country we heard of it" Leo said as they approached the guards at the doors. "Have you come to spectate or participate?" he asked. "We're participating!" Ace smirked. "Participate, eh? Well, you'll need a Nomination from the Guild just like everyone else." "BAM!" Ace said holding out his nomination as Leo and Zane held up theirs. "You've already got one? My apologies. You can going in any time you like! This way please" he said opening the doors as the three stepped in. "Welcome to the Hall of Heroes!" the guard said leading them down a hall with statues of heroes, "if you follow me, I'll take you to the Arena Preparation Area." "Wow" Ace said looking around. "What an honor to see such faces of who fought in these walls" Leo said. "I tell you, the history of this place is wasted on the public. The Arena's first Heroes. Our land's heritage. But do people care? No. People don't want history. They want the heroes of today, still I suppose every era needs its own Heroes. Hmmm, quite profound, that. You can quote me if you like." "The first heroes man what it must have been like back then" Zane said passing the statue of Rook. "So this is the Preparation Area?" Leo said as they headed down the stairs and joined several other fighters to listen to the rules. "Welcome to the Witchwood Arena. A couple of basic points first, first of all, I must remind you to keep your aggression for the Arena itself. Anyone caught trying to cut up his rivals in here will be in trouble. You have been warned. Secondly, the way out. You can come in after each round, not during a round" Roth spoke as they heard boos outside. "Roth! It's getting really ugly out there!" a guard said. "All right! You! Chameleon! You've hear all this before go on for the first round and keep the crowd happy" Roth said. "No problem! This'll be easy!" Chameleon said entering the arena. "Okay, when it's your turn, I'll call your name, and you will enter the Arena through the door our friend Chameleon just used. Once in the Arena you will battle foes from all over Albion. Every group of creatures you defeat wins you prize money, and increase the prizes for the next round. The aim is to stay out there as long as you can to earn the big gold." "Now you're talking my language!" Ace smirked as Leo and Zane smacked the back of his head. "Now, you can come back here any time you like: to buy potions or more equipment, do this thought and your prize for the next round will be zero and worse, the crowd will think you're a big loser. Real Heroes get out there and stay out there! Whether you rest or not, the Arena Bonus Prize, given by Jack of Blades himself, will go to whoever gets through every single round alive" Roth spoke as Zane, Leo and Ace silently gasped. "Jack of Blades here?" Ace whispered. "So, get out there. Use your skills well, make sure the crowd enjoys it and, if you have to die, do so bravely. The rest of you, wait your turn" Roth said walking away. "He's here?!" Leo said. "Perfect!" Zane growled. "Hold on Zane think rationally, all he's doing is giving your prize if you go and plunge a sword in his gut it will look bad we can't kill him, that is not what a hero would do he wait for Jack to show his true colors, I am not even sure people are aware this is THE Jack of Blades the threat to mankind" Leo said. "Your right but he knows where my mom is" Zane said. "We'll find out soon but for now we can't let Jack know your that very boy he was after" Ace said as a guard approached Roth. "Er? Roth? Bad news. I think Chameleon's, er, you know. Dead." "What?! Already? The idiot. Right, people. It seems Chameleon only made it through three rounds before dying like a chicken in front of 5,000 people. We need a new volunteer" Roth said before pointing at Zane and his friend, "new boy! You look read. Been a while since we had a team go in. In you go." "Already?" Leo said. "Talk to Al up by the door. He'll let you into the Arena" Roth said. "Let's go" Zane said as they headed up the stairs. "Right, I can let you in now. You sure you're ready?" Al asked. "Yes" Zane said. "Ah, round one. They always tell me this one give them the biggest buzz" Al said. "Buzz, hee hee, that's a good one, Al. Buzz, funny" the second guard said. "Okay were up against Wasps" Leo said as they entered the Arena approached a gate that was lowering down with a crowd of people cheering and an announcer speaking. "Ladies and Gentlemen, for your entertainment, I give you Zane, Leo and Ace famous for such Quests as Orchard Farm, and defeating ex-Hero Twinblade!" he said as the three stepped into the center of the arena and saw the gate behind them close, "like other brave challengers, this up and coming hopeful has an eye on tonight's Grand Prize, presented by Jack of Blades himself." "Hello ladies! Mwha! I love you all!" Ace said blowing kisses to the female spectators. "Focus Ace!" Leo growled smacking the back of his head, "we need to be on our guard!" "Hear that?" Zane asked hearing a growing buzzing noise. "And we're onto the first round! An old Arena favorite, it's the Wasp Horde!" "Uh oh" Leo said as Wasps began to surrounded them. "HA!" Leo yelled firing his bow at Wasps flying around them. "Shock!" Zane yelled electrocuting a few that got close to them. "YAH! HA!" Ace grunted smashing some with his ax. "Ace!" Leo yelled jumping onto Ace swinging Ax blade and jumped to the air firing arrows at remaining Wasps as nothing but dead bugs surrounded them. "Fighting like that gets you 100 gold! The next round will be 500 gold! He may be new to the Arena, but he's got through round one! Let's see how he does with the second round. It's an audience favorite. The cruel, the smelly Hobbes!" "Let's go!" Zane said getting in a circle with his friends as the countdown began. "Three! Two! One! Go!" he yelled as Hobbes appeared in the Arena. A few minutes later Zane threw he last dead Hobbe into the pile they made as the fan cheered. "That's another 500 Gold! 600 Gold up so far and there is a 1000 up for in the next round! Ladies and Gentlemen, it's time for the team rounds!" he said as the gate opened and Whisper walked out to join them as thunder cloud flashed above them as the sky began to grow dark and it began to rain down on them. "Whisper?!" the three said. "Four heroes side by side, fighting together for their very survival! And there's been a last minute change to the Heroes lineup! It's the sister of Arena Legend Thunder! Let's hear it for Whisper!" he said as Whisper bowed to the crowd, "so, the four of them together, can they defeat the Balverines?" "Let's take care of this!" Ace said drawing his weapons like the others. "Three! Two! One! Go!" Three Balverines then appeared as the four went to attack. "HN!" Zane grunted sliding under a Balverine using the mud on the ground then stab his sword into the Balverine back. "Here!" Whisper said using his pole to choke a Balverine from behind as Leo finished it with a knife stabbed down into its skull. "AHH!" Ace yelled using his ax to slice the neck of the last as five more then appeared. "NGH!" Ace grunted being tackled in front of a spinning blade fan as he grunted and kicked the Balverine off into the fan chopping it up into pieces and spill blood all over Ace, "UGH! Nasty!" "Look out!" Leo yelled dodging a white Balverine tackle as he looked to see Whisper stab the end of her pole into a Balverine then saw the White coming at him again before standing on a red panel and smirked, "Come on!" The Balverine then lunged as Leo jumped and in the seconds the fan came up slicing up the White Balverien and hitting Leo with it's blood and guts. "Yeah that stink!" Leo said as a Balverine roared and tackled him. "Blades!" Zane yelled using the spell to kill the last two as Leo threw the body off him. "Thanks!" Leo called as the final round started and two white Balverines appeared with eight brown ones. "We can do this!" Zane said getting in a circle with his friends. By the end of the round the four were covered in the blood of the dead Balverines with rain washing away what got on their clothes as Zane pulled his sword out of one dead body. "1600 in the bag and there's another 2000 I offer in the next round! These four did a great job last round, ladies and gentlemen. Give them a big hand! The next round is a real favorite this year! Anyone who's braved Lychfield Graveyard recently will know what I'm talking about. It's the Undead!" "Hollow Men!" Leo growled. "Something you know?" Ace asked. "Zane use that Inferno spell and use it a lot!" Leo said lighting an arrow on fire as a pack Hollow Men rose from the ground. "Inferno!" Zane yelled setting three one fire before they exploded. "HN! HA!" Leo grunted firing lit arrows into Hollow Men skulls. A few minute later! "What the hell?!" Ace panted. "Yeah hard to kill huh?" Leo panted. "Four rounds left guys" Zane grunted. "The competition's heating up! We've already lost three Heroes. Well it's time to make our surviving combatants even more nervous! It's round five, and here they are. Spared from the headsman's block, let's have a big hand for: the Bandits of the Black Hand Gang!" "Something I know!" Ace smirked. "Just focus!" Leo said. Later! "Out intrepid Heroes have made light work of Wasps, Bandits, Hobbes, Balverines and even Undead What's next? What could possibly pose a threat to our noble combatants? Ladies and Gentlemen, it's round six! The Might Earth Trolls Ingrid and Bertha!" "...they're females?" Zane said as the two Trolls emerged in the ring. "HA! AH!" Whisper grunted attacking one with Leo. "Ha!Hn!" Leo grunted on its back stabbing a sword into its neck. "Force Push!" Zane yelled knocked one over towards a fan as Ace used it's ax to trip it and watched the the spinning blades finish the rest while Whisper and Leo brought down the other. "Too easy now" Ace said waving to the fan. "At least the rain stopped" Leo said. "Things are getting very tough for our contestants. We can all see that they're feeling the strain but what stands between our noble Heroes and their winnings? Is that a pile of rubble? No! It's the Rock Trolls Stanoth and Groyn!" "Not again" Zane sighed as the split off into pairs and went to attack the trolls. Later! "Whew!" Ace sighed kicking over a rock. "So what's next? Trolls are the only thing powerful I can think of?" Leo said. "Wait and see" Zane said waving towards the fans as they saw everything was now turning red. "Now ladies and gentlemen today you have seen the best of Albion's Arena fighters. Put your hands together for our successful Heroes! But now, round eight, the final battle, I give you...Arcahanox!" "What the hell is an Arcahnox?" Ace asked looking around the red arena with the others. "Three! Two! One! Go!" the announcer said as the ground shook and a massive scorpion rose from the ground with a hiss. "WHOA!" Leo yelled dodging it's stinger. "GAH!" Zane grunted as it smacked him and Whisper with its massive claws. "It's exoskeleton hard to break!" Whisper panted. "First thing first we need to take out it's poison string" Leo said. "How?" Ace asked. "Whisper! Zane distract it! Ace come with me!" Leo said. "Hey over here! Shock!" Zane yelled hitting the bug as it charged as them and Zane and Whisper dodged rolled as it slammed into a wall. "Ace!" Leo yelled as Ace launched the Assassin in the air, "AHHH!" Leo yelled using his sword to chop off the Arcahnox stinger as poison and blood spilt out and it hissed. "If we can get close we can try and use a sword to break it's shell and hit it's brain, instant kill" Zane said. "Go!" Ace yelled as he and Whisper charged as he caught one pincher with his ax and Whisper held the other with her pole. "Zane!" Leo yelled giving Zane a boost in the hair as he spun the sword upside down. "RAAGH!" Zane yelled thrusting it down its head and stabbed through and hit and came out the bottom of its head and hit the ground as it hissed and moved for a bit before collapsing dead. "...we did it? WE WON!" Ace smiled as the red vanished and the sun came out from the clouds. "We have four winners! Incredible! So what will happen? Four winners and only one prize? Well, as you know, we have a special guest here today it's the one, the only...the Hero of Heroes, Jack of Blades!" the announcer said as Leo, Zane and Ace looked up to a balcony where stood a red hooded man wearing a white mask. "Hero of heroes?" Leo said. "Have these idiot truly forgot our own history?!" Leo growled as they looked at the man. "I have returned. After an eternity away from you all, Jack of Blades is back!" Jack spoke, "this Arena is all that is great in Albion, and you all that is worthy in it I am honored to stand before you again and I have a proposal to mark the occasion. One final round a fight to the death between the four Heroes still standing, the winner will receive a special prize. The loser will have the privilege of dying before you." "THE HELL IS THIS BULLSHIT?!" Ace yelled. "What do they think they're doing? They can't do this!" Whisper said to the others. "Yeah no kidding! I am not going to kill any of you your my friends" Zane said. "What should we do?" Leo asked. "I'm going to put on a good fight, but I'm not killing you, I can't kill you! We came here to put on a good show and that's what we're going to do! Let's go!" Whisper said. "May the best man win" Leo said as they all moved away and turned to face each other and pulled out their weapons. "YAH!" Whisper grunted launching at Zane who jumped back to dodge her attack, "damn! You've improved since training!" "Yeah I picked up a few trick! Rise Dead!" Zane yelled sending spirits of Hollow Men after Whisper. "HA!" Ace grunted swinging his sword as Leo dodged then swept under Ace and kicked his feet out from under him, "NGH!" he grunted before rolling out of the way of Leo swinging his sword down. "HAH!" Zane yelled hitting Whisper and sent her skidding across the ground. "AHH!" she grunted before launching herself in the air and came down kicked Zane over on his back. "AH!" Ace yelled colliding weapons with Leo. "Hn!" Leo grunted shoving Ace into the wall then smacked his weapon out of his hand and used the hidden blade and held it close to Ace neck, "your dead." "...yeah I know guess a Merc could learn a thing from an Assassin" Ace said as Leo made the blade hide again. "A Mercenary got a few things we Assassins could use" he said before running towards Zane who shoved Whisper across the ground. "Whoa!" Zane yelled before dodging Leo sword then pressed his hand to Leo chest, "Force Push!" "GAH!" Leo grunted being sent flying and smashing into a wall and hit the ground out cold. "AHH!" Zane yelled charging at Whisper. "YAHHH!" she yelled charging as their weapons collided in a spark and in a blink of an eye Whisper staff was flying and stab into the ground away from her and Zane pointed his sword to Whisper neck as she was on her knees. "We have a winner here tonight folks! All he has to do is give her one final strike to the last three heroes, and the Bonus Prize is his! But will he do it? Will he kill Whisper, Leo and Ace, or will he throw his victory away?" "Don't do it Farmboy. We agreed. Just...walk...out. We agreed let's stop fighting now" Whisper said. "You know that nickname really annoys me Whisper, if I was anyone I would strike down you, Leo over there out cold and Ace" Zane said. "Zane?" Ace said standing over Leo as Zane smiled and put his sword away and held his hand out to Whisper. "But my friends are worth way more to me than 24,000 Gold and some stupid Bonus Prize, SCREW YOU JACK! I pick my friends over death anyway" Zane said helping Whisper up before going over to Leo and helped carry him out to the gate with Ace but before going through the doors he looked right at Jack and held up his middle finger before going through the doors to see Thunder in the Preparation Area with a woman dressed in purple. "But, my dear Lady, it was mere luck! He's nothing but a-" Thunder said before Zane and Ace walked in with Leo arms around their shoulders. "Ah! There you are! The Heroes they're all talking about. I'm impressed and that doesn't happen often" Lady Grey smiled. "Ngh! What the hell happened?" Leo groaned. "But I forgot my manners. I am Lady Grey, the Mayor of Bowerstone, I can see you are a man of worth. You should pay me a visit at my Bowerstone North Manor" she said. "My Lady! If you would only li-" Thunder began before Lady Grey interrupted him. "Thunder! I am tired of your protests. Tired of your jealousy. The time of your glory is long gone. You should learn to accept that" she said before looking back at Zane, "as I was saying Hero, I do hope you will accept my invitation. We have much to discuss" she said before walking away. "Yeah like why she hired bandits to stela from farmers" Leo muttered as Thunder glared at Zane and he back. "This is not over. Your blood blood spills just like any other and yours will spill soon enough" Thunder growled. "Love to see you try!" Zane growled back as Thunder entered the arena and Jason and his friend followed a guard back down the Hall of Heroes. "That was unbelievable. I haven't seen anything like it for a long time. I'll guide you back through the Hall of Heroes. You truly deserve to stand amongst them. I must say, you remind me of someone who fought here many years agoZane." "Oh really?" Leo said. "Memory's not what it used to be, but I think her name was...Scarlet Robe. That's right. Ever heard of her?" the guard asked as Zane stopped with wide eyes as the guard kept walking. "Zane?" Leo said looking back at Zane. "Probably not. It was all before your time but if you look on your right then you'll see her statue. She was the first female Hero to become Arena champion" the guard said as Zane approached a statue of a woman in a hood holding an ax in shape of an eagle. "...mom" Zane said looking up at her. "That's your mother?! Scarlet Robe is your mother?!" Ace yelled. "Why the hell didn't you tell us?! Oh this makes so much sense!" Leo said looking up at her statue with Leo and Zane. "Your mom hot" Ace said as Leo slapped the back of his head as they saw Zane fall to his knees. "Zane!" Leo said touching his friend shoulder. "It's her that's my mom" Zane said trying to fight back tears. "She was a fine hero" Jack said as Leo and Ace growled spinning around to see the man approaching as Zane stopped up to also glare at the hooded man "just as soft- hearted as you but her dedication came with a prince. After her final battle she was never the same. She lives now in complete solitude, crushed by her failure to save her family long ago and yet here you are. I knew her son would end up here one day. It's in your blood and in your sister's too. You should bring her to me. I so long to reunite you both with you mother. Just think of the happiness it would bring her." This was the true face of his mother. Scarlet Robe, slayer of Balverines. Once one of the fiercest Heroes in all of Albion yet her most splendid battle was also to be her last. Ambushed by a dozen Balverines, Scarlet killed them all, only to fall injured and drained beside their corpses. There she would have died but for Brom, a kind and simple woodsman who tended her back to health. In time they married and had two children. A girl and then a boy. Scarlet days of death were forever behind her. "I highly doubt you're interested in a family reunion" Zane growled at Jack. "Whatever you decide, you have earned the Champion Seal. People everywhere will recognize you as the winners of the Arena and it will grant you access to Bowerstone North. Don't lose it. It is rather valuable" Jack said giving Zane a seal before they were escorted out. "I should have killed him there!" Zane growled. "It's not worth it! We know his true colors but the world see him as a hero we need them to see too" Leo said looking at their prize. "Oh we got to keep the King Scorpion Sting" Ace said. "30,000 Gold? Someone was being generous" Zane said. "Probably Jack to try and get us to buy his 'I'm interested in your reunion' crap" Ace said as a bandit approached. "Hey you!" "The hell you want?!" Zane growled making the man flinch. "Theresa wants you to meet her at the Grey House!" he said. "Theresa?" Zane said. "Let's go" Leo said as they headed to Bowerstone.